hurt you.”
“Don’t be.” I want to reach for her, want to pull her into my arms, but I don’t want to make a wrong move. “You’re more than entitled to hate me.”
“But that’s just it. I don’t hate you.” She smiles suddenly. It’s not her bright sunshine smile; it’s a bittersweet little quirk of her lips that warms her dark eyes. “I love you.”
Of all the things I expected her to say… “What?”
“I know. It surprised me, too. But that doesn’t make it less true.”
I can’t stand this distance between us any longer. I hold out my hand. “Aurora, come here.”
“In a moment. There’s a few other things.” She shifts from foot to foot. “I forgive you for what happened twenty years ago. I can’t promise that it won’t knock me for a loop periodically because grief is weird, and I’m still working through it, but I promise not to throw it in your face.”
It’s more than I could have imagined. “And the other?”
“I’m going to keep working in the Underworld, albeit I’m going to scale back to four nights a week. It makes me happy, and even though I love you, I’m not…” She shrugs. “I’m polyamorous. It’s who I am.”
“I know.” I’m not remotely surprised. Haven’t I considered that possibility from the moment I decided on her? Still, I have to ask questions instead of blindly agreeing. “What about Hades? He’ll have a problem with you working there and then coming home to me.”
“Hades trusts me enough to keep business and personal separate. The secrets of the Underworld stay there, just like whatever happens here stays between us. That is, if you agree.”
“I agree.”
She blinks. “You’re not even going to think about it first?”
“Aurora, do you honestly think I hadn’t considered this from all angles before I told you I wanted to continue things past the deadline of the assignation? You love working in the Underworld; of course you were going to continue there if that was an option. It makes you happy.”
“It really does,” she says quietly.
“I want you to be happy.” I curl my fingers at her. “Come here.”
Slowly, oh, so slowly, she places her hand in mine and allows me to tug her toward me until I can wrap my arms around her. The sigh she releases as she relaxes into me is the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. I inhale her subtle vanilla scent and something in my chest unclenches. “I only have one condition.”
She tenses. “What condition?”
“Talk to me. Regardless of what you’re feeling, if it’s a day you hate me, talk to me. I can’t read your mind, and I won’t be able to provide what you need if I don’t know where your head is at.”
“Only that?” She laughs a little. “I’ll try. I can’t promise perfect communication, but I promise I’ll try.”
“That’s enough.” I allow myself to inhale deeply, pulling her vanilla scent into my lungs as I hug her tightly to me. “I missed you.”
She buries her face in my neck. “I missed you, too. It was driving me crazy not being around you, even when I was furious, but I couldn’t come back until I figured some of my shit out.”
“I’m glad you came back at all. I would have waited longer if you needed it.”
Aurora runs her hands up my arms and over my shoulders to cup my face. She looks up at me, and there are no shadows in her eyes, no shields in place. She just looks relieved and happy. “Forgive me?”
“You were already forgiven the second you walked out the door.” I place my hands over hers. “I know what’s it’s like to want revenge for pain caused and loved ones lost. It hurt, but I can’t pretend I didn’t deserve it.” This still seems almost too good to be true, but it doesn’t matter, because she’s here. Against all odds, she’s chosen me, and I’m going to do my damnedest to make her happy and keep her at my side.
“Even if you forgive me…” Mischief alights in her dark eyes. “I would very much like to make it up to you. Starting right now.”
“Oh?” I arch my brows as she goes for the front of my slacks, undoing them quickly and shoving them down my hips. My shirt is next, and Aurora doesn’t even bother with the buttons. She just pulls it over my head and tosses it on the floor. I glance at it. “Messy.”
“I’ll fold them later. I’ve missed you